Louisville-based Blessings In A Backpack has grown from one school volunteer’s reaction to a child asking for her lunch apple so she’d have something to eat that weekend into a national organization that has provided 23.3 million hunger-free weekends to school children.
That first week in 2005, the late Melissa “Missy” Hammerstrom bought 23 backpacks and provided food for the weekend. Today, volunteers at 1,200 locations in 45 states put food into backpacks to make sure students who are fed during the week by the federal free/reduced-price meal program at schools don’t go hungry on the weekends.
The blessingsinabackpack.org website allows gifting to specific schools, with $15 providing enough for a month of weekends. Blessings has received the GuideStar platinum seal of transparency for charitable organization operations.
Its website offers information on fundraising via multiple forms of events, partnerships, platforms and social media. Among events across the country that will benefit BIAB is the Unbridled Eve gala dinner and dance party, which will take place Friday, May 3, 2024, from 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville. Go to unbridledeve.com/tickets/#bracelets for ticket information.
The nonprofit’s declared mission is to mobilize communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry.
What are the primary challenges your organization faces?
There are many amazing nonprofits and worthy causes, and we all compete for the same dollars. Blessings in a Backpack always seeks partnerships with individuals and corporations where our mission resonates. These partnerships are long-lasting and beneficial for all parties involved.
What are the current needs of the organization?
Blessings in a Backpack is always in need of financial donations. We have some excellent partnerships with food distributors that allow us to purchase the food for our weekend bags for a great price. We can feed a child over the weekend for an entire school year for $175.
How can people get involved?
From packing weekend food bags to organizing fundraising events, creating positive notecards for inclusion in food bags, becoming a community ambassador for Blessings to even initiating a Blessings program in your community—there’s a role for everyone passionate about making a difference. Whether you want to devote one hour, a day, or a year, Blessings has an opportunity for you. Explore the diverse ways you can contribute to our mission and be a part of the solution to end childhood hunger at blessingsinabackpack.org.
